What to expect from Shanghai art in 2017

We quizzed the top galleries on what we can look forward to this year

By Tamsin SmithPosted: Tuesday January 31 2017

Charles Pétillon at MD Gallery

It was a huge year for the creative
industry in Shanghai with
2016 seeing more art fairs,
international expos, local talents
and travelling foreign artists than
ever before. As the popularity of
emerging Chinese artists continues
to blow up across the Mainland
and beyond, the city’s art scene
shows no signs of slowing down.
As we hurdle into a new year, the art
directors of three of the city’s most
exciting galleries look back on a jampacked
2016 and forward to what
2017 has in store.

This gallery is a hidden gem in
the heart of Yangpu district,
showcasing varied collections
of contemporary art from both
Chinese and international artists.

Looking back ‘It was a challenging
year with an exceptionally fastgrowing
art scene in China. But
after eight years in Shanghai, I am
pleased to see that the gallery’s
artists are still very inspired by the
city’s unique environment. Whether
they are from China or abroad, they
are still very much inspired by what
is happening here.

'Our shows have
been ambitious, we have had to be
creative every day to make it happen,
but in the end I am very proud of what
the artists have delivered. Among the
highlights, we had a recent show with
Chinese artist Li Hongbo, and his
paper sculptures. We also had the
chance to host the amazing 15,000
balloons installation in the shape
of a gigantic spiral, made by French
photographer Charles Pétillon.’

Looking forward ‘Next year will,
for sure, be a very special year.
Some news will come as a special
surprise that I have to keep under
wraps for the moment, but first
on our programme, we will reopen
after Chinese New Year with a solo
show by Liu Bolin, who has a great
variety of works. Usually people
know him for his Hidden in the City
photographs, but he has so much
more to show: sculptures, neon
artworks, drawings. Next season
will also host the much-awaited first
show in China by New York-based
duo FAILE. They have an amazing
scope of work, with impressive
mixed media artworks. I know the
public here will love them.’

A bright art space by the Bund
elegantly showcasing the works of
emerging and established Chinese
contemporary artists

Looking back ‘The year 2016 embodied a dynamic rhythm of exhibitions, switching between
diverse solo, dual and group shows –
all exploring different creativities of
Chinese artists. The Art+ Shanghai
Gallery stayed true to its goals: to
support and promote both emerging
and established Chinese artists,
professionals of the art world and
the public.

'Our group exhibitions
The Impermanent Sceneries and
I Will Be Your Eyes have not only
showed the close cooperation with
the Central Academy of Fine Arts
Beijing, but given an insight into
emerging Chinese artists. In 2016,
Art+ Shanghai also opened a space
in Singapore, in partnership with
Florence Honoré-Ybert. The year
ended in a magnificent way – with
Art+ being awarded both the Merit
and Readers’ Choice award at the
Time Out Love Shanghai Awards
2016 in the category Best Art Gallery
of the Year.’

Looking forward ‘In 2017 Art+
Shanghai Gallery will celebrate its
ten-year anniversary and various
exhibitions are scheduled for the
year ahead, starring Shen Hua,
Zhang Wei and Seungmo Park.
Art+ also has some surprises to
offer, both in Shanghai and in its
dedicated space in Singapore
– new, promising artists have
recently joined the gallery and will
be announced soon. And as for our
hopes for the New Year… how about
winning all three of the awards
at the Time Out Love Shanghai
Awards 2017?!’

An exciting gallery educating the
masses on quality photography
and unique creative processes

Looking back ‘It was one of the
most interesting years yet for M97.
After ten years on Moganshan Road
and two years of the M97 Project
Space in the French Concession,
we officially moved in and set up
both spaces on Changping Lu.
My main intention and challenge
was to get the gallery positioned
for the next ten years of operation
and exhibitions, thinking about
new directions and ways forward
in photography and the art world in
general.

'The new spaces allow us
to have two exhibitions at any time
and we can give our artists more
flexibility, while being on a rooftop
in the heart of downtown Shanghai.
We opened the upstairs Project
Space with Luo Dan’s installation
of large format collodion wet-plate
landscapes and after the legendary
Shanghai-born (1931) Hong Kong
photographer Fan Ho’s passing in
June, we opened the downstairs
gallery space with a show dedicated
to his vintage photographs, On the
Stage of Life.’

Looking forward ‘We opened the year with young Hunan-based artist
Huang Xiaoliang’s new work in the
Project Space titled East Window.
Also in the downstairs gallery space
we will open Chengdu-based artist
Adou’s new series of black and white
photograms. Both these artists are
some of the best talents working in
contemporary photography right now
in China, so I am very happy to be
starting 2017 with their exhibitions.

'This month we will also exhibit for
the first time at the new Photofairs
San Francisco art fair (the sister
fair to Shanghai Photofairs) and I’m
excited about showing works from
our Chinese artists to the fantastic
photographic arts community in San
Francisco and the States in general.
This is something we will focus more
on in 2017: taking artists overseas
as well to keep introducing the great
work that is currently coming out
of China and try to help close the
knowledge gap that exists.’

More museums to watch in 2017

Exceptional installation works inside a refurbished power station. Often showing three exhibitions at once, the museum also has an above-average café on the top floor, with a huge rooftop offering stunning views of the river. As it’s state run, entrance is usually free, with the current Biennale at a budget 20RMB, and only Cai Guoqiang’s bombastic The Ninth Wave coming in at PSA’s most expensive price of 60RMB.

The elegant architecture and minimalist design make it the perfect place to display classic photographic works. Previous exhibitions include a retrospective of Hollywood photographer Brigitte Lacombe and a beautiful group exhibition by Chinese artists, Nature: A Subjective Place. Around the corner from Yuz Museum in the West Bund area, the gallery provides quiet refuge from the city’s more eccentric art spaces.

The West Bund Art area is challenging (even surpassing) the much-loved urban industrial M50 for the top art hotspot in Shanghai. Set in an old airplane hanger, Yuz Museum plays no small part in this, with 9,000 square metres of gallery space. Having previously hosted the infamous Rain Room back in 2015, the Yuz is sure to be showing some of 2017 biggest shows.